C64 OS is one of the most amazing programming projects

Gregory Nacu has been working on a modern operating system for the Commodore 64 for a few years now and is getting close to his first release of C64 OS.

While there has been quite a few Mac/Windows-style user-interfaces developed for the C64, including GEOS, C64 OS really appeals to me as it is character-based rather than bitmap (except when displaying bitmap graphics).

The other reason it appeals is that it is an amazing feat of programming.

It is single-tasking but multiple windows can be opened.

Windows can be resized and moved, and can have menus. They can have resizable split panes and tabs. When content is hidden or shown, other elements resize to fit.

It has a toolbox of controls like radio buttons, checkboxes, text boxes and a control to select from a list of choices.

The OS has an excellent file manger tool for finding and manipulating files and folders.

C64 OS introduces MTEXT, a rich text format for text styling and even embedding hyperlinks.

The developer, not surprisingly, has an interest in operating systems and admits to being inspired by many, including Amiga Workbench.

When asked about networking support, he says that the initial release will not have any networking support, but says that one of his main aims for the project was to write network applications, so networking support will be added in a subsequent release.

C64 OS will run on a standard C64 (and VICE emulator) with the standard RAM, but does require a modern storage device that supports nested directories. A mouse is, of course, recommended. It also supports add-on hardware, including modern devices.

Although I have no need or use for a C64 operating system, or even a Commodore 64 to use it on, I'm fascinated by this project and really look forward to using it in the future.

I'm also fascinated with how it works, although I doubt I would understand much as it's written in C64 assembly language. There is a YouTube channel with some of the development work for those who might understand, or are at least interested.

For a demonstration of C64 OS, see a presentation to Commodore Users Europe on YouTube from 11 June 2022.